FAD Communications Toolkit- Outbreak Communications
Key Message:
Communication is key during a foreign animal disease outbreak or potential outbreak. Within this toolkit, you’ll find tips and resources to help you communicate and advise anyone working with pigs or connected to our industry. Including how to:
Encourage everyone to stay informed
Make sure anyone working with pigs knows what to look for
Emphasize the importance of reporting any suspected signs of FAD
Highlight the immediate steps that individuals can take
Be transparent about just how devastating an FAD outbreak can be
Share useful resources for reacting to and preparing for FADs
Encourage everyone to stay informed
The most important thing you can do during an outbreak, or potential outbreak, is to stay informed from credible information sources. Sign up for updates from Oklahoma Pork Council using the form below, and encourage others to do the same at OKPork.org/FADhub
Make sure you and your fellow Oklahoma Pork Industry professionals are also aware of the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Forestry’s Current Oklahoma Disease Alerts page. You can also subscribe to news and updates from the National Pork Producers Council, and read the latest news from NPPC on animal well-being, at the bottom of their NPPC Animal Well-Being page
Pork producers can also sign up for emergency alerts, by text, from the national Pork Checkoff by texting “PorkCrisis” to 97296. This emergency/crisis news text service will only be used in the event of major pork industry crisis. Message and data rates may apply.
While intra-industry communication is key during an outbreak, it’s also important we all communicate a clear and consistent message to consumers. remember, diseases like ASF only impact pigs and pose no threat to humans, public health, or food safety.
Make sure anyone working with pigs knows what to look for
Members of the pork industry need to always remain vigilant for signs of an FAD, even more so during an outbreak or potential outbreak. Make sure you and anyone you work with knows the signs and symptoms to look for.
Share this simple graphic of ASF symptoms from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Protect Our Pigs page.
The Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture put together a slide that outlines the diseases to look for, the characteristics of a reportable disease, and when to report any concerns. This slide can be easily downloaded and shared from here- Oklahoma Reportable Disease List
Emphasize the importance of reporting any suspected signs of fad
The worst thing we can do during an FAD outbreak, or potential outbreak, is to stay quiet when we’ve got concerns, questions, or think we see possible symptoms in our animals. Make sure everyone you work with in the pork industry knows where to report concerns. Starting with the Oklahoma State Veterinarian and the US Department of Agriculture. Reach out to either or both.
Oklahoma State Veterinarian- 405-522-6141
US Department of Agriculture- 1-866-536-7593
If you have any concerns at all, you can’t go wrong by calling either of the numbers above. If you still have questions, you can also call or email the Oklahoma Pork Council. Contact information can be found on this page.
Highlight the immediate steps that individuals can take
In addition to staying informed and reporting any suspicion of symptoms (as described above), the National pork Board outlined a seven-step process that everyone should follow. You can download and share this document from this link or by clicking the banner below.
The Illinois Pork Producers have developed a one page document outlining necessary equipment for pork producers in case of an FAD. Click, download, and share.
Click, download, and share the PDF to the right to help producers with mortality management planning. This resources is from the Illinois Pork Producer Association.
Be transparent about just how devestating an FAD outbreak can be
While we don’t want to stoke fears, we do want to emphasize the severity of an unchecked FAD. The USDA says the results of African Swine Fever entering the US “would economically devastate pork producers, pig farmers, and anyone whose livelihood involves pigs.” Impacts would include:
Halt on all US pork and pork product exports
50% drop in hog prices
Widespread disruption in pork production
Significant job loss
Culling of the herd
Immediate 72 stop movement of live swine and semen throughout the country
You can read this and more on the USDAs Protect Our Pigs page. For a more detailed research paper on the economic impact of an FAD in the United States, the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development released this report in 2019. The report estimates the ten year economic impact of an FAD outbreak to be roughly $50 billion in lost pork industry revenue.
Help others understand and embrace biosecurity practices
Encourage producers and pig farmers to participate in the Secure Pork Supply Plan. You can download a one page, shareable summary by clicking the image below or share the website SPS Pork Producers Page for a more detailed walkthrough, as well as downloadable reports and video summaries.
Click to download these posters (English and Spanish), developed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and share them broadly, especially with individuals who lead staff or teams who regularly work around pigs.
The National Pork Board has prepared a three page checklist of process and practices that if implemented by producers will help speed response times to an outbreak by animal health officials. Download and share by clicking the banner below.
There are a lot of important and necessary actions we can take during an outbreak that will have a positive impact, but the greatest impact we can have on an FAD is by being educated and prepared before an outbreak ever happens. Encourage your pork industry partners to prioritize biosecurity and to proactively act now, so they don’t have to reactively act later.